People are mourning the tragic suicide of 18-year-old Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi; over in Maplewood, NJ, the young life of another person was taken from this earth as the result of a fatal shooting that should also receive your attention. (Maplewood Patch):

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office reported today that the victim of a fatal shooting in Maplewood on Sunday was Victoria Carmen White, formerly James White. White had legally changed her name to Victoria Carmen following sex reassignment surgery.

The Prosecutor’s Office and Maplewood Police had originally identified the victim as James White. However, as stated in a release from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office this afternoon: “Following an examination by the Medical Examiner and further investigation, it has been confirmed that the victim was a post-operative transgender female having undergone sex reassignment surgery.”

Looking at the numerous photos of Victoria, I have to agree with Monica Roberts of Transgriot.

Take a look at the photos of Victoria interspersed throughout this post. Does she look like a ‘man’? When are you peeps going to get it through your heads, especially in the law enforcement and criminal justice communities that genitalia does not necessarily equal gender?

There is nothing indicating that IDing her in that manner is relevant to the shooting.

John AravosisFollow me on Twitter: @aravosis | @americablog | @americabloggay | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn. John Aravosis is the editor of AMERICAblog, which he founded in 2004. He has a joint law degree (JD) and masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown (1989); and worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, and as a stringer for the Economist. Frequent TV pundit: O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline & Reliable Sources. Bio, article archive.